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I also have "real time" data, at least as it affected me.
First flu shot was somewhere around 1978 or so when I finally ran into a Commander (I was in the USAF) that gave me a direct order to get one. Like you, the first time I got the flu was that year.
Every year since I got the flu somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas - that was until three years ago when my wife talked me into trying it again. Haven't had the flu since, and I get the shot every year.

I'm not exactly sure what conclusion I could draw from my experience - but there it is.

What year did the flu vaccine stop being made out of live flu virus? Maybe that would explain why people used to get the flu when they took the vaccine. And of course people still get it when they are exposed to a strain they haven't been vaccinated for.

Most doctors tell their elderly and chronically ill patients they need to take the vaccine. For example, diabetics have a much harder time shaking any illness, and illness often makes their blood sugar difficult to control. If they can prevent the flu, they can prevent the risk of complications from it.